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CORRECT STATEMENT 

OF 

THE FARIOUS SOURCES 

FROM WHICH 

THE HISTORY 

OF THE 

ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN ADAMS 

WAS COMPILED, 

AND THE 

Motives for its Suppression 

BY COL. BURR: 

miii) some (BhmMim^ 

ON 

A NARRATIVE, 

BY A CITIZEN OF NEW-YORK. 
Second Edition corrected with Notes. 



^By JOHM WOOD, 

AUTHOR OF THE SAID HISTORY. 
NEIV'TORK: 

?RINTED AND SOLD F OR THE AUTHOR, BY C. 8l R. WAlTE 

1802. 



gi€onttt i^tatement, &c, 



No task is more difficult or painful than properly 
to correa a mistatement of the aBions of party orof indivi- 
duals, occasioned by erroneous information or a too impli- 
cit confidence in intriguing charaaers ; yet no labour ough 
to be esteemed more praiseworthy than an investigation of 

thisnature. The prideor obstinacy inherent inhuman nature. 
too often refuses this tribute which virtue requires, and 
men in general are unfortunately over-zealous to pursue 
with" avidity that road which ignorance once has diaated 
rather than to retreat into the more noble path of honest 
integrity. The politics of America appear to a British 
alien, on a superficial survey, only as a simple question 
respeaing the preference of aristocracy ; but, after a Httle 
experience, and a more minute knowledge of parties, a 
.ceneof faaion and intrigue, pervadingallranks of society. 

gradually unfolds itself, in a manner that must excite the 
asionishmcnt even of those best versed in the arts of £u. 
3opcan policy. The unwary foreigner, acquamted only 
with those principles fixed by the constitution of the States^ 
readily embraces the cause of that party which appears to 
show most address, and most zeal in defending the rights 
of that people among whom he has chosen his iuturc resi. 
dence. The real patriots ot this description are most ire- 
quently men who conceal themselves in silent obscurity, 
unwillincT to mix in the bustle of the political world, until 



[ 4 ] 

the invaded rights of therr country call them forth to ac- 
tion, and exposff to view their latent virtues. The licenti- 
ous, the needy and the ambitious, are in general the appa- 
rent patriots of every country, whom accident most fre- 
quently introduces to the acquaintance of the unknown 
stranger. With these men, who daily promise relief and 
improvements to the peeple, he contracts an acquaintance, 
partakes in their career of popular applause, and gradually 
imbibes tenets that, under other circumstances, he would 
have spurned with contempt. 

Such is the unfortunate lotofmost|of the British patriots 
who have emigrated to this country; intoxicated with that 
love of liberty which an hereditary right has implanted in 
the breast of every Briton, they view every stain which 
tarnishes the edifice of their constitution with the deepest 
regret, and, as if aftuated by the frenzy of parental affec- 
tion, they wish for the total dissolution of the objeft nearest 
their afFe£lions, rather than be the painful witnesses of its 
decay. Unable to accomplish their desires, in the mo- 
ment of mad despair they withdraw themselves from their 
native homes, and as a last resource retreat to that country 
which was colonized by their ancestors under like motives 
and like patriotism. There it is their utmost ambition to 
maintain those sacred rights of which they were deprived 
in their own country, and trusting the sincerity of every 
clamorous advocate of liberty as impressed with the same 
sentiments, they enlist in his party and confide in his in- 
tegrity, until some fortunate accident dispels the cloud of 
hypocrisy which veils him from their eyes, and discovers 
the patriot from the impostor. 

I might indulge more largely in this prefatory digression, 
but vanity or prejudice would probably be attributed as the 
cause; and were I to give a detail of those circumstances 



[ 5 1 

which led myself to America, and of the ftrst acquaintances 
I formed upon my airival, it would justly be deemed as 
proceeding from an egotism, tedious to the reader and 
unfruitful to the public. 1 shall therefore, without fur- 
ther apology, enter upon the subje6l which constitutes the 
title of the following pages: — 

ON the 19th of June, iSoi, I entered into an agree- 
ment* with Messrs. Barlas and Ward, booksellers in New. 
York, to write a History of the United States of America 
during the Administration of President Adams. As the 
transaftions which have since taken place; have arisen in a 
great measure from the opposite charafters of these two 
booksellers, it may not be im.proper if I bestow a little at- 
tention on this circumstance. — Mr. Ward is a young man 
of the strictest integrity and honour, and as to politics has 

* The following is a copy of the articles entered into by Messrs. Barlas & IVari 
and myself 
We the Subscribcrs'have received the following Letter from Mr. Wood 
and bind ourselves to agree to the conditions therein expressed under the 
Penalty of me Hundred and Fifty Dollars, 

WILLIAM BARLAS. 



M. WARD & Co. 



NeW'Ttrkf June 29^,1801, 



Messrs. Barlas & Ward. 
Gentlemen, 

I hereby cnqage to write a History of the United States of 
America, during the Administration of John Adams, Esq. to be contained, 
in nearly four hundred and eighty pages, of thirty lines, and to be com» 
pkied bv the end of Avigust nex^, or September at farthest; which His, 
tory, I give to you, as also the Copy Right thereof, in the United States, 
under the penalty of one hundred and fifty dollars. 

I am Gentlemen, 
Yeiw obedient Servant, 
New-York, No. 4, Wall-Strcct, JOHN WOOD, 

ioth June, 1801. 



[ 6 1 

taken no aftivc part in favour of either party, but Mr. Bar. 
Us, unfortunately for himRelf and mankind, is in a degree 
a character of a different complexion ; with his acquaint- 
ances he professes himself the warmest friend to the adniini- 
sf rat ion of Mr. Jefferson, and often insinuates that he has 
occasionally contributed to the aid of the anti-federal prints, 
while to the public he assumes the modest appearance of 
clerical indil?L^rence. Mr. Barlas, however, as being the 
oldest partner m this business, had the preference given to 
him in all matters of dispute. By our letter of agreement a 
clause was inserted at the desire of Mr. Barlas, that the 
work should be finished by the end of August or Septem- 
l^er, I did nut ohjaSi to the clause at the instant of sub- 
scribing the articles, not doubting bat Messrs. Barlas and 
Ward would, for their own interest, allow the period to 
he prolonged, if necessary. Pievious to the commence- 
ment ot the work, 1 had calculated upon my labour, rather 
ss a field of amusement than that of laborious research ; it 
was impossible to have conceived that the annals oi a go- 
vernment of H new country, such as the United States, for 
f./ur years, should be enveloped in mystery, cibal, and in- 
trigue, and.thatall the public prints should bea coile6iion 
oi iafschDoHs fabricated by the hirelings of party ; but I 
50on discovered, that to investigate the truth from volumes 
oi newspapers devoted to opposite interests, would require 
several years in place of a itw months. Before the stipu- 
iJted period was expired, I conununicatcd my sentiments 
to Mr. Ward, and requested a prolengation oi the period, 
lo which he appeared lo gi\'e his cordial assent, but upon 
conversing wiih Mr. Bjrlas, they both insisted, I suppose 
from the advice of Barlas, that the book should be finished 
v/itliin the time prescribed, otherwise tiiat 1 would lv>rleit 
tho pjjiaJty thut 1 had agreed upon in my letter of the 19th 
wfjjiie. 



[ 7 ] 

Thus circumstanced, I was under the necessity of tbro.v- 
ing tDgether my materials, I may say without either pro- 
per arrangement or due consideration. These materials 
were principally collefted from the Aurora, Mr. Duane's 
private letters, and Callender's works, besides some occa- 
sional hints I received from gentlemen in New-York and 
Philadelphia. 

My correspondence with Mr. Duane, or rather his let- 
ters to me, originated not through Barlas and Ward, as he 
has stated in his letter in the Aurora, but from an applica- 
tion which I made to him respe8;ing the letters of Curtius : 
This application was made about the first oi Ju'V, and 
from that time until the month of 061ober, Mr. Duane 
sent me, occasionally, information as to chara6lers and 
events, sometimes couched in the form of letters, and at 
other times expressed in the form of history, leaving it to 
my own discretion to alter the language or not. Notwith- 
standing this adive part which Mr. Duane had in the com- 
pilation of the history, he is pleased to assert in the 
Aurora of the 12th July, that it contains neither veracity 
or dignity. Such an observation would certaialy have pro- 
ceeded with more propriety from any other critic than Mr« 
Duane, when the fafts furnished by him are well known to 
be the most false and libellous in the whole book. These 
facts, as he termed them in his letters, related principally 
to Mr. Adams, and c on)pose almost all the anecdotes in- 
serted in the history respefting the late president. The 
fallacy of the stories reported to me by Mr. Duane, I was 
then ignorant oF, but can now assure the public, that I have 
been informed by persons more respe61dble than Mr. 
Duane, that there is not the smallest foundation either for 
the anecdote of the Alchemist, mentioned in page 503, or 
for the stories rcspcting Mr. Adams and Doctor fr*iHkijin, 



[81 

related in chapter XII. "'^ Mr. Duanc was particularly sec^u- 
lous in his letters in requesting that I should by no means 
omit to describe, in tiie most pointed manner, the enmity 
of Mr. Adams towards Dr. Franklin; but upon a fair inves- 
tigation of this matter, I have discovered that Mr. Adan^s 
never displayed any marks of hatred to Doctor Franklin 
himsclF, but only towards Bache the printer,uAvho raised 
Mr. Duane to his present cnunence. This was certainly 
an a61 of gratitude in Mr. Duane, but that species of gra- 
titude which ought to receive the severest censure, the 
raising the reputation of a friend at the expense of his 
enemy, and, without having the boldness to execute the 
stratagem himself, to impose the task upon a stranger. 
The character given of James Ross, of Pennsylvania, in page 
184, was drawn from the Aurora, but as to the truth of 
the charges there adduced against Mr. Ross, I have not 
had an opportunity of determining. The probability, how- 
ever, is that they arc false, as they have been reported by 
Mr. Duane. The characters given of the members of con- 
gress (who voted for the alien and sedition bills, that of 
Mr. Bingham and Mr. Ross excepted) in the history, from 
page 182 tothecntl of the sixth chapter, were entirely ta- 
ken from Callender's Prospect, pages 122, 123, 124, 125, 
-44' ^15' ^4^' ^ ^47' *^^ ^^^^ ^^'^^ volume. The language 

*Mr. Duaue stated in one of his letters expressly that the sum of/ 15,000 
Stfilmg, was given to Mr. Charles Dilly, a Bookseller in London, for the 
purpose of suppressing or purchasing the materials, which Mr. Diily liadl 
procured from the friends of Dr. Franklin, for the purpose of compiiinp 
a History of the Life of that Philosopher; he did not mention by whom 
the money was given, but from several insinuations in his letter, it appeared 
that Mr. Ad.ims must have been intended as the Suppressor, — The story 
however is entirely false, for Mr. Dilly has declared not only that he 
never received any sum, for the suppression of the History oi Doctor 
Frankjin'k Life, but that such a Publication as this, was n:ver contemplat- 
ed by him. 



[ 9 J 

is a little altered, but the reader will perceive that the sen^ 
timents are the same. The character of Mr. Bingham 1 
obtained from the friends of Mr. Duane when at PhiJadeU 
phia. I however am induced to suppose by other inform- 
ation, that although Mr, Bingham is not the brigntest man 
in the world, his enemies have extremely exaggerated his 
faults. The articles entitled Briiish puacy, were entirely 
extracted fromCallendcr's works, his Sketches of America, 
and Annual Register. The Contents of the sixth chapter 
of the History, from the commencement to page 168, 
were drawn from the second chapter of the first volame o\ 
Callender's Prospect.* The account I have given of 

* This part relites to the dismissal of Vv llljam Gardener Commissioner of 
Lonns for New Hampshire, a supposed insult offered to General Sumter 
of South Carolina, and an account of a tumult at Philadelphia, on the 9th 
of May 1798,. with some other anecdotes ^vhich are very much misrepre- 
sented, but as they are entirely copied from Callender, whose incorrectness 
I had not reason to suspect when I compiled the History, I have thought 
proper both for the satisfaction of the reader, and as a proof of the manner 
in which 1 have been misled, to transcribe a few paragraphs on this jubjc'ct 
from that writer. 

*' Bache collected and armed some of his friends. The six per cent myr- 
jnidons heard of his preparations, and fortunately desisted from their 
plan. They filled the streets with noise and alarm ; but they did not hazard 
an attack. The history of that night has never been completely told. 
It was affirmed, at the time, that a large quantity of arms was lodged by 
the governm.ent faction in a house near the hall of congress, and that, m 
case oi disturbance, riiuskets and ball v/ere to be distributed to \\\£ ycun^ 
citizens, as the attorney's mob chose to call themselves. Happily, the in- 
habitants at large, are acquain:cd with the worth of peace, and the storm 
blew over. But for this good foriunc, thanks are not due to vhe genuine 
friends 6f order, as some persons impudently term themselves. Unqwcs^ 
tionably, Philadelphia contains many characters that would rejoice in biood- 
?hed. ♦' 

B 



L I^> ] 

BIounl'5 con:,piracy, and the negociation of this country 
with the Directory of France, were collected from the 

*' On the cvcn-ng oF the same fast day, about thirty lads appeared in a 
body, in Philadelphia, with French cockades. Th cy made no disturbance 
They were disperied by the magistrates, who committed some of them to 
prison. The federal mob were by far more numerous, more noisy, and 
more apparently dangerous. No attempt was made by the magistrates to 
reduce thcni to quiet. But at length some republican troops of horse as- 
sembled on the streets; and the young cit'zens took themselves out of the 
way. We had musick ai»d poetry, sucii as they were, for several nights 
after. The treasury songsters descended so very low as to serenade Lis- 
ten's printer." 

•' In summer, 1798, general Sumter of South C arolina, w?s grossly in- 
sulted at the new Circus in marker-street, Piiiladelphia, because he did not 
clap his hands, when the president entered the place. The general sat in 
one of the front rows, when a rumour spread that Mr. Adams was coming 
in, A clapping of hands commenced, and one Fitzhugh called out, in a 
loud voice, asking why the general did not clap ? A second rumour arose, 
and a second demand for c'apping was made upon this venerable veteran. 
At the same time, Fitzhugh attempted to seize his hands, and force him 
to clap. General Samter represented that there was no mutual acquain- 
tance to justify such freedoms, that he was a stranger to the gentleman and 
gsked if the latter knew ty^o he zvas? "Oh, damn you, we know you, 
*' and all your party," replied the royalist. " I hope, in six months time, 
*' to see you all banished from the country." Then turning to one ma- 
jor Oram, he went on thus: *' docs not Dayton keep these fellows in 
*' excellent order?'' His last words referred to the insolence of that super- 
eminent ruffian, the late speaker of ihe house of representatives. The je- 
Tond rumour of the approach of his majesty of Braintree proved, also, 
groundless. At last, Mr. Adams did appear. Fitzhugh then attempted 
to snatch off general Simuers's h?.t, askii^g why, like the rest of the com- 
pany, he did not uncover? The general found out hrs name, and called 
for him, next inoming, at his lodgings; but Fitzhugh was gone." 

*' Party spirit has extended even to cliaritable institutions. The dispen- 
sary at Philadelphia was lately conducted by six physicians, who gave at- 
'•.-ndance^rt^f:;. One of :hc«!e: was Dr. James Reynolds. In place of 



L 11 ] 

Aurora, as also were my remarks on the constitution ol 
Connecticut, and the characters of Mr. Trumbull, Mr. 
TreaHwell, Mr. Thomas Grosevenor, Mr. Thomas Sey- 
mour, Mr. Aaron Austin, and Mr. David Dagget. These 
last are to be found in the Aurora of April, 1801. 

In the character of General Hamilton, which Mr. Duane 
thinks proper to call a panegyric fraught with falsehood, 
I have certainly committed some errors, bat the principal 
error is one, which detra£ls from the integrity of that able 
officer in place of adding an undue lustre to his virtues. 
The reader will easily perceive that I allude to the stale 
story of Mrs. Reynolds. Followingthe mistatement of Cal- 
lender, I have represented that woman as an amiable and 
virtuous wife, seduced from the afre6lions of her husband 
by artifice and intrigue. That woman, however, I have 
been informed from the best authority, from the authority 
even of her own acquaintances, to have been one of those 
unfortunates, who, destitute of every regard ior virtue or 
honour, traffic with the follies of youth, and lay their snares 
to entrap the feeling heart and benevolent mind ; such was 
the origin of her acquaintance with Mr. Hamilton, whose 

thanking him for his acceptance of a trust by which he could gain nothing, 
the managers took offence at his attendance. Only one objection could be 
started against this inteUigent and estimable man. Dr. Reynolds is a friend ' 
to political liberty. The other five physicians wrote a letter to the mana- 
gers, representing tbat they could never admit the introduction of such a 
principal for dismission. The board had no* even the decency to send 
these gentlemen an ansv;er. Their letter was returned back again, with the 
copy of a minute, made by the boaid, and dated May 31, 1798. In that 
paper, the managers say that " the contents of this letter are of a nature 
improper to be ccmidercdP The physicians immediately gave in their resigna- 
tion, adding that they would continue their services, until successors could 
be appointed. The managers sent them a second minute, and, without 
thanking them (or the latter part of their cojr,munlc?tion, accepted ©f 
their propc^al to resign." 



[ 12 ] 

unsuspecting generosity became the victim of her art anc! 
duplicity. The dates in the article of liisllfe, are also erro- 
neous, as well as the island of his birth, which was Ncvis 
and not St. Croix. Th<! anecdote relating to Mr. HamiU 
ton at the capture of the redoubts at York-town, I have 
read in several histories of the American war; as also in 
the Anti-Jacobin Review, in reviewing Mr. Hamilton's 
Ictrcr to Mr. Adams, but Mr. Hamilton himself, I am in- 
i'ormed, denies it. 

Respecting the biography of Mr. Burr, which the writer 
o{ the narrative calls ^master piece o{i\\Q Hyperbolic, the 
matenals for writing it were not furnished by Mr. Burr, 
as the narrative erronaously states.* Mr. Burr and I have 
been aquainted for about two years, but not intimately : 
our acquaintance arose from being employed by Mr. Burr 
in the line of my profession, as a classical teacher, in which 
capacity I have received from Mr. Burr every mark of ci- 
vility, which might be expefted. Mr. Cheetham was the 
first person who acquainted Mr. Burr, that I was cn^ployed 
in writing a history of the Administration of president 
Adams, and I was informed by Mr. Cheetham, that Mr. 
Burr expressed a desire to see me respe8:lng it ; I accord- 
ingly saw Mr. Burr, but scon perceived, that although he 
approved of the nndertaking, he felt a proper reluftance to 
give me any information on the subjeft ; in the course of 
the summer I saw Mr. Burr several times afterwards, but 

* It is however knov/n, and asserted as true, that Mr. Earr famished 
Mr. Wood with materials for vyriting his own biography, which is a mas- 
ter piece of the Hyperbolic, and exhibits in Mr. Burr to whom the bio- 
graphy of himself was submitted for inspect:.on no common degree of 
vanity. — Ilis revolutionary services, which were so trifling as to escape 
the notice of the writers of the different histories of the revolution now 
extant, were so represented by Mr. Wood so as to dazzle the reader with 
the brilliancy of the exploits." Narrative, p. 13. 



[ IS 1 

our conversation, to the best of my reco]le£lion, respefted 
some pupils, acquaintances of Mr. Burr's, whom I was en- 
gaged in instructing* and not politics. In the month of 
October, I waited one evening on Mr. Burr, to request he . 
would d'weR me to some person, who might have it in his 
power to give me a correal statement of the capture of the 
British Piquet, narrated in page 458. Mr. Burr very 
frankly referred me to a captain Gardner, of a Newburg 
sloop, who a8:ed as his Serjeant on that expedition ; in the 
course of our conversation, Mr. Burr naturally dropped se- 
veral circumstances, that occurred during the v;ar,by which 
means, and the information I obtained from capt. Gardner, 
together with Hardie's Biography of president Burr, and 
the journals of the Senate, I drew up that imperfeft sketch, 
which I inserted in the history, which if incorreft, either as 
to fafts or composition, the blame alone i^ to be attributed 
tq capt, Gardner and myself, and not to Mr. Burr."* The 

* The account which 1 received frpm Captain Gardener, was near- 
ly in the following ■'.vords, as inserted in the History, " General Clin- 
ton lay across the bridge ol:" Hackersack, with about 4000 British troops, 
the American army was stationed above : one evening about dank, Colonel 
Burr marched down with a company of twenty-four men to reconnoitre 
the enemy, at a little distance from the new bridge, he perceived a gUm- 
jnering of alight, which proceeded from the Er^emy's piquet: he imme- 
diately halted, and having ordered a profound silence, he ciossed the road 
to the opposite side of the v.'av, and took his quarters under a chrsnut tree, 
leaving his party he went alone to observe the situation of the enemy and 
got so near them as to obtain their watch word — He returned a little before 
the break of day, and led his men directly between the piquet and the 
main body of the British troops ; then dividing his small company into 
four divisions of six men each, he gave orders for two of them to attack on 
the front, one on the right and the other on the left, v;)ih a strict injunc- 
tion not to discharfre a mu<quet — Having advanced within twenty five or 
thirty paces, he was hailed by the centinal whom he immediately shot dead, 
then charged his enemy with fixed bayonets, and obliged the whole to sur* 
render, consisting of one ofTicer, a serjeanr, a corporal and twenty se^cn 
men.'» 



[ 14 ] 

lifeof Mr. Jefferson was compose*^ from ajbiograpby.given 
of Mr. Jefferson in an English publication, entitled ** Pub- 
lic chara£^ers of 1801," a small pamphlet published by 
H^mbold of Philadelphia, and the Aurora. The anecdote 
respefting lord Dunmore and Mr. Jefferson, I had from 
an An:ier;can student of Virginia, when at Edinburgh. 

These were in short the principal sources from which I 
compiled my history of the Administration of president 
Adams. Several trifling incidents, which are scattered 
through the volume, I received from individuals ; but as 
they are of no moment to one party or another, their detail 
would be unnecessary, and to bring before the public their 
authors would be an improper action. I shall, however* 
add, that from the sources from which the history in gene- 
ral has been compiled, it would be improper for the reader 
to place any reliance on the facts which it contains, or to 
regard the work in any degree as acorreft statement of the 
events which occurred during the administration of Mr. 
Adams. 

In November, 1801, Mr. Burr visited Philadelphia, as 
the Narrative states, but upon what business 1 was igno- 
rant. Previous to his return, when the History was 
nearly printed, several concurring circumstances which 
took place, and which accident threw in my way, began to 
unfold the views of those men to whom I had been attach- 
ed, and plainly discovered that I had been deceived in 
most parts with regard to the characters and events which I 
had described. Tore-print the whole edition was an ex- 
pense which my situation in life could not admit, nor was 
it tobeexpefted that the booksellers would willingly ac^ 
cede to such a proposal. Thus embarrassed how to aft, I 
expressed my doubts to Mr. Ward of the propriety of 
sending forth such a volume to the world without taking 



[ 15 J 

the advice of some person whose experience in the political 
world was known, and whose legal abilities were undoubt- 
ed. Mr. Brockholst Livingston was the gentleman we 
both agreed upon to whom the History should be shown 
previous to its publication.* Mr. Burr, however, in the 
mean time, returned from Philiadelphia, and chance having 
thrown him in my way in Nassau-street, after the usual 
compliments of the day, he requested I should bring him 
a copy of the History that evening, which I accordingly 
did. Colonel Burr turned to the article relating to him- 
self, and observing some errors in the dates, which I bor- 
rowed from Hardie's Biography, respecting his father, he 
desired that I should leave the copy with him until the next 
morning, and that he would correct them. I called at his 
house next day at an appointed hour, and found Colonel 
Burr with the History before him. Perceiving from the 
leaves being cut, that he had read great part of it, I com- 
menced the conversation by expressing a regret at those 
circumstances which had led me into so many errors re- 
spefting certain characters described in the volume, and, 
at the same time, solicited his advice how to act in such a 
critical affair. Colonel Burr first inquired in what manner 
and upon what terms the History had been published ; 
after being informed that Messrs. Barlas and Ward were 

• A few days before Messrs. Barlas & Ward gave the History to 
Mr. Wortman, they requested Mr. Brockholst Livingston to peruse 
it, who accordingly did so, and gave it as -his decided opinion, that it 
was a libellous publication, and if published would be injurious to the 
community. — He particularly specified the characters of the members of 
Congress at the end of the sixth chapter as composing a part of the 
book, which he regarded as libellous. — ^The author of the Narrative who 
was acquainted with this fact should therefore have implicated Mr. Living- 
ston in the same plot with Mr. Burr as their opinions tended to the same 
purpose. 



[ 56 j 

the proprietors, he said there was no other alternative h\.:t 
to purchase the edition from them, adding, at tl:e same 
time, that as he knew I had compiled it from the best mo- 
tives to the republican interest, I siiould not be a loser, but 
that he and his friends would defray the expense : — He 
therefore ordered that I should, without delay, make the 
best possible bargain with Messrs. Barlas and Ward for the 
edition and copy-right, but to conceal his name in the 
transaction. 

This is an exa6l statement of the origin of the first inter- 
view I had with Mr. Burr respecting the suppression of 
the History. The narrative states, that the errors I had 
committed in his biography, would have made Mr. Burr 
about fifty, whereas he stated himself he was not more 
than forty-five years of age.* This is a mistake ; for al- 
though these errors tended to add a few years to the age 
of Mr. Burr, yet Mr. Burr particularly expressed his only 
motive to have them rectified, was to-show the world the 
early misfortune he laboured under of having been depriv- 
ed of his mother wher> in the age of infancy, for I had 
mentioned, in my History, that after the death of presi_ 
dent Burr, the care of his education devolved on Mrs. 
Burr. This circumstance I have thought particularly ne* 
cessary to notice, not only as a mattei of justice to Mr. 
Burr, but to expose the malicious intent of the writer oi 
the Narrative, who, to promote the views of his party, 
and decra£l from the integrity of Mr. Burr, concludes 
his paragraph by the following sarcastic expression ; — 
*' To one who is looking forward to the Presidency, to gain 

* Mr. Hardle in his life of Mr. Burr's father, says, that in the fall of 
'-^TSy* president Burr went to Philadelphia on some business, and on 
"h's return in the same year died in the fory-third year of his age. — Fiom 
~-J:is paragrsj^h I think ilw mistake in Mr. Burr's age originated. 



[ I'? ] 

at the age of fifty, five years on the side of youth, is t)o in- 
considerable acquisition.'"' 

After leaving Mr. Burr on the morning of the loth of 
December, I .waited on Mr. Ward and communicated to 
him my desire of purchasing the edition and copy-right of 
the History, with the intention of suppressing it, addingj 
that a particular friend was anxious this should be done, 
both on account of the republican interest which the pub- 
lication would injure, as well as from a personal regard to 
myself; and that if he and Mr. Barlas would agree to any 
reasonable ^rms, ray friend would immediately clos^ 
with them. Mr. VVdid appeared entirely satisfied, bult 
said it v/as necessary to have the consent of Nlr. Barlas, 
who he supposed would agree upon the payment of all their 
expenses. I saw Mr. Ward in the afternoon of that day 
after having conversed with Mr> Barlas, but was astonished 
to find that Barlas could noc be brought to an agreement, 
except upon very extravagant terms. "^ I saw Mr. Burr to^ 
wards eveningj and related to him my fears of the impos- 
sibility of treating vviih my books-tljcrs, Mr. Barlas in 
particular. Mr. Burr thought it an unfortunate circum- 
stance, but said he had no doubt if the danger ot publish- 
ing a libellous book was properly explained to them, that 
they would agree; he also inquired it I knew w'uo were 
the particular acquaintances or patrons ol Mr. Bulas; X 
mentioned Dr. Wiison of Columbia college as one, up'^n 

* Although Mr. Ward agreed finally with Barlas In his demands, ye^ 
the blame ought alone to rest with the latter, for Barlns always consulted 
his ov/n pleasure, and not hi^ partners in every circumstance attending both 
the publication and suppression. Barlas in the beginning of the negociation 
continued to raise his demand*;} he first asked 1500 dollars, then isooo, ana 
I believe was once for jncisLlng upon 2500. as a proper compensdti&n. 



[ 38 ] 

which Mr. Burr promised he should see that professor the 
next morning upon the subje£^. In our conversation this 
evening, Mr. Burr observed, that independent of the libel. 
Jous matter, I had fallen into several inconsistencies in my 
description of characters, particularly that of General 
Washington.* Mr. Burr's opinion of the abilities of 
Washington, I confess, was not the most favourable ; 
but certain am I, that I never heard Mr. Burr express 
himself in such derogatory terms of General Washington 
as the friends and party of Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Clin- 
ton always do+ — No one knows this so well as the writer 
of the Narrative — no one has heard so much abuse thrown 
on the character of Washington in the companies which 
he frequents as this same citizen ; but want of candour 
has caused him to attribute the opinions of his own party 
particularly to Mr. Burr ; for he knew the prejudice of 
the public was greatly in favour of Washington ; he w^s 
not ignorant that could this odium be thrown upon Mr. 
Burr alone, that a principal point would be gained, and he 
therefore has endeavoured to ruin the popularity of Mr. 
Burr, by apparently reprobating those opinions ivhich he 
and his friends foster in private, and nourish together. 

In regard to General Dayton, Mr. Burr disapproved 
that in a history of important events, personal transactions 

* The inconsistencies which Mr. Burr alluded to were the cpposite 
characters given of Washington in different parts of the history, and which 
inconsistency, I in some manner apologized for, in the paragraph relat- 
ing to Washington's death. 

+ I have heard a violent Clinto nian declare, in presence of the Narra- 
tive writer, that he regarded the Presidency of Washington, as one of the 
most unfortunate circumstances which ever befell America. Duane and 
his companions always bestow similar epithets of praise upon Washingron 
and Adams, and most commonly place the actions of the former tic the 
«ead of their list of despotic crimes. 



' [ 19 ] 

should have a place ; that the letters between Dayton and 
Childs proved nothing more than a commerciajl transaction, 
which has been practised by oany others besides Mr, Day- 
ton ; that the violence of party rage often threw the blackest 
colouring over the most trifling matters, which it did in the 
transaction between Dayton an4 Chiids ; and I believe he 
might have added, that from the letters themselves, it ap- 
peared that Childs was indebted to Dayton to a consider- 
able amount, Mr. Burr also remarked, that I had been 
•led into an extravagant mistake with regard to the anecdote 
I related of Mr. Hamilton at the capture of the redoubt at 
York-Town ; that the MarquLs de la Fayette was a man of 
the greatest humanity, and that my information must have 
been erroneous. Respc6];ing Mr. JeSlfrson, the conversa- 
tion arose from Mr. Burr's observing, that I mentioned in 
my History, that, in the first meeting of congress alter the 
election of Mr. Adams, Mr. JefFerson should have addres- 
sed the senate in an extempore speech : Mr. Burr told me 
this was a mistake. Remarking upon the character of Mr. 
Jefferson, I observed to Mr. Burr, that although 1 regard- 
ed the President as a man of sound judgment, and well fit- 
ted to fill the office he now holds, yet, 1 by no means deem- 
ed him a character of enterprise or of the first genius, un- 
derst-anding by the word genius, a faculty of mind which 
Providence has granted to a few individuals who have ex- 
plored the hidden paths of nature, and by their actions, 
have astcnhshed the ordinary intellccl of man. To this 
opinion Mr. Burr appeared to give his assent, but never 
dropped a single expression in any manner or degree dis- 
respectful of Mr. Jefferson. He seemed also as;** lished 
that I should have represented Mr. Finckney as a man ot 
Ic&s integrity than Mr. Hamilton, knowing the former, 
without any disparagement to the latter, to be a man of tne 
strictest honour in the United States. These were the 



C 30 ] 

substance of all the remarks as to characters, which Mr. 
Burr made to me : what he may have said to Others 1 kuow 
not, nor shall I attempt to investigate/^ 

* It is impossible for the reader to perceive the deceitful aim of tl-.c 
Narrative writer, so weU as by contrasting what I have stated, with the 
falsehoods contained in p. 17 and 18 of the Narrative. 

•* It 'vvas objected that the character of Mr. Hamilton, Charles C. Pirick- 
re/, Jonathan Dayton, and General Washington were net accurately deli- 
neated , and it was added with great tenderness that the book contained 
many libellous passages. He therefore enquired whether an agreement 
could not be made wijh Barlas and Ward to suppress it ? He conceive^ 
that the character of Mr. Hamilton was misrepresented, meaning where en- 
comium was bestowed upon him it was unmerited — that Mr. Charles C. 
Piackney, who was represented by Mr. Wood as a person ol less integrity 
than Mr. Hamilton, was a man of purer principle than any other in the 
union. Upon General Washington, undeserved eulogiums he said had 
been, lavished; and that during his Presidency he had evinced himself a 
person possessed of unbounded vanity without talents eiiher as a soldier or 
a scholar. Continuing his criticisms, Mr. Wood, he observed, had wholly 
mistaken the character of the honourable Jonathan Dayton. Referring to 
his connection with Francis Childs, which Mr. Wood had noticed in his 
history to the disgrace of Mr. Dayton, he declared that Childs was a sco'ur.. 
drel and indebted to Mr. Dayton in the sum o^ one hundred thousand dcU 
tars. The character given by Mr. Wood of Mr. Adams, he liked; it 
was a bad one, and he thought it representative of the ex-piesident. Mr. 
Burr reserved his critical remarks on the character given by Mr. Wo&d 
of Mr. Jefferson to the last. This he did not think exactly descriptive 
of that illustrioQS person. He observed that Mr. Jefferson was not a man 
ol genius; he was 7i plodding, mechanical person, of little activity of mind 
and possessed of a judgment not very discriminative. Mr. Jefferson he 
said had also another great failing ; he courted and was fond of popularity \ 
He suggested to Mr. Wood the propriety of writing his character anew, 
and prom!scd to furnish him with facts relative to Mr. Jefferson which 
were little known to the public, and which wo\ild be found exceedingly 
interesting. '* 

The Narrative writer also declares, that Mr. Burr never condescended 
to mention any of the libellous passages. This is a mistake, he marked 
several, among the Nc\v»England characters in particular. 



[ 21 ] 

I saw Mr. Ward on Friday the nth of December, and 
represented to him the dangers which would await Barlas 
and him, as well as me, from prosecutions, if the history 
were published. He appeared to be of the like opinion, 
but said it was impossible to convince Barlas, who had ta« 
ken the advice of his friends, and saw nothing in the history 
that would be libellous : he urged another objection to the 
suppression, that a manuscript copy had been sent to Lon- 
don a few days before with a Mr. Hodson, by the ship Juli- 
ana, in order to be published, and unless it were recalled 
the suppression could not take place, I immediately com- 
municated this intelligence to Mr. B^^rr, who was at din- 
ner v/ith some company ; he came to the door and chartred 
me by all means, to order Messrs. Barlas and Ward to 
stop the publication in London. The brig Recovery was 
to sail that evening for Greenock, and no other vessel was 
to sail for several days. Messrs. Barlas and Ward agreed 
to write to Hodson to stop the publication, on condition I 
should either give up the name of the person with whom I 
was negociating, or give them proper security for any loss 
they might incur from stopping the publication in England. 
This I was unwilling to do without orders from Mr. Burr^ 
and therefore I returned to his house, but unfortunately 
he had gone cut. The R.ecovery was to sail at six o'clock, 
hy which circumstance I had no other alternative than to 
give Messrs. Barlas and Ward the name of Mr. Burr, or 
drop every idea of suppressing the History. In thi« 
dilemma, I preferred mentioning the name of Mr. Burr, 
in expectation he would never he known as the suppressof 
— Messrs. Barlas and Ward having given me an obliga-* 
tion lor 300 dollars to that purpose, 

I saw Mr. Burr upon Saturday the 12th, and inbrmedi 
him, that orders had been sent hy Messrs. Barlas and 



C 22 3 

Ward, with the brig Recovery, to stop the English edi- 
tj'on ; at the same time I put into his hands, copies of let- 
ters which had been written for that purpose, with which 
he seemed perfectly satisfied. The only difficulty which 
now remained, was to compjomise the matter with Barlas 
and Ward? to efFe6l which, Mr. Burr advised me to write 
to them the following letter, and not the one which is first 
inserted in the Narrative, which is incorrect, false, and 
erroneous. 

GENTLEMEN, 

Having discovered, lately, tha; the History of the 
Administration of John Adams, which I compiled for you, 
is, in several parts, false and erroneous, as it regards pub- 
lic events, artd entirely incorrect as it regards individual 
characters, I have the most anxious desire that It should be 
suppressed, for wliich purpose I engage to indemnify you 
fpr the neat expenses of paper and print, and to furnish you. 
with an altered copy, fit for the press, in the space of ten 
days — the copy-right of which I assign over to you in the 
same manner as the former. In the event of your non- 
compliance» I shall feel myself under the necessity to pub- 
lish th* above to the world, and also to set on f(X)t a new 
work in vindication of those characters I may have injur- 
ed, so that the whole of the malice and injury done, which 
never were intended by me, may rest on you alone. I 
remain, Gentlemen, your's, &c. 

JOHN WOOD. 
New-York, 12 Dec. 1801. 

* To Messrs. Barlas. IVard and Co. 

* The fabricated letter in the Narrative is as follows, being materially 
differeat both as to sentiment and expression, 

NeohVark, December iltk, 1801. 
Gentlemen, 

I hereby propose to indemnify you for the nett ex- 
penccsof priming the History of the Administration of John Adams; 



r 23 ] 

I received an answer from Messrs. Barlas and Ward 
refusing my offer ; but agreeing to suppress the work for 
two thousand dollars, or fifteen hundred dollars with a new- 
manuscript copy.* These proposals neither meeting Mr. 

including the paper thereof, and to furnish you with a new maruscnpi 
copy in the space of ten days from this date, on condition that the present 
edition be entirely suppressed. — Should it not be suppressed you will 
be prosecuted for the libel it contains, 
., I am Your'5, Gentlemen, 

Mesirs. Bartas & IVard, JOHN WOOD. 

It is stated in a note at the bottom of the 21st. Page in the Narrative 
that ** it had been said by Mr. Burr, that if the I'roprictors would not 
suppress the work, they would (or should) be prosecuted by Mr. Dayton, 
who would not allow them the option of giving up the Author." This is 
altogether false, no such expression having ever been used by Mr. Burr in 
my presence. 

* *• New-York, December iiM, 1801. 
•' Sir, 

•• We have received your proposals, Wherein you offer to indemnify ug 

for our nett expcnces, and give us another manuscript copy within the 

space of ten days, provided vvc agree to suppress the edition which we 

have printed, 

*• We have no objections to suppress 4he w^ork, provided we receive a 
competent indemnification. The nett cxpences would be no object to us> 
considering the risk we have run, and the trouble we have had ; and also 
the uncertainty but what we should be put to the same trouble again after 
we had printed the altered copy — However we offer you the following 
conditions, which, if you agree to, you may depend upon the most strict 
compliance ©n our part. 

"1st. Wc will emtTcly suppress the edition, provided wcneceivptwo 
thousand dollars, or, ^ 

*' fid. We will run the risk of printing another edition, and destroy the 
one v;e have finished, for fifteen hundred dollars. 

*' N. B. If neither of the above proposals should be agreed to by you, 



... [ 24 1 

Burr's approbation nor my own, it was necessary to fall orf 
some other expedient to suppress the work. Mr. Burr 
naturally supposed, that if a new edition, having all the 
errors and mitakes in the former corrected, and real facts 
inserted, could be privately printed, and when furnished, 
to be offered to Messrs. Barlas and Ward, in exchange for 
their incorrect and libellous book, they could not possibly, 
cvtn regarding their own interest, have the smallest objec- 
tion ; but if, contrary both to prudence and reason, they 
should persevere in their plan of publishing the original 
work, the only remedy was to publish the new edition, and 
furnish them with an appendix correcting the errors in the 
old one- This scheme, to which there can be attached 
neither blame or censure, was alone frustrated by Barlas 
and Ward daily lowering their demands, until at last they 
offered to suppress the History for iioo dollars, indepen^ 
dent of too dollars to Mr. Barlas for his share of the copy- 
light, Mr. Ward having relinquished his claim, in order 
to receive the profits arising from the printing of the new 
work.'* These were the terms finally agreed 'apon between 

ve must publish the work with an appendi,^, wherein you may insert any 
corrections you may think proper. 

Mr. JOHN WOOD» M. WARD & Co. 

W. BARLAS." 

* " A^ew-VoT^, December 16, 1801. 
Mr. Woor>. 
Having been delayed In the publication of your history some time, and 
having Ordered back the copv we transmitted to London, by your order, 
wc wish to come to some final determination upon the subject, as it will 
be Ini possible for us to be hindered in tlie publication any longer; wc 
«h;!iefore as our ultimate conditions, offer you the followinp/. 



JVC. 



We will snnnress the printed edition for 1250 dol. provided wc rece 
f'^'^tis, another copy within the spec of dayo. 

The mon:y we have actually p:iid out amounts to 1050. The tlmc^ wi 



[ 25 ] 

Messrs. Barlas, Ward, and myself, and with which Mr» 
Burr appeared satisfied, when he left New- York for Wash- 
ington. The night previous to his departure I saw him, 
and he informed me that he had given orders to W, P. Van 
Ness to settle the business, meaning the payment of the 
money. 

Had this immediately been efFe61ed, most probably the 
world would never have been made acquainted with the 
transaction, and malicious characters would not have had an 
opportunity ofthrowing their insinuations, and darting their 
venom with impunity, as they have now done, against the 
second chara61er in the United States. The particular 
cause of the failure of the immediate payment of the mo- 
ney, I am not acquainted with ; whether it was owing to Mr, 
Burr, or the negligence of his friends, I know not. It 
might have proceeded from Mr. Burr, hearing his name be- 
have lost by being delayed, the trouble \vt have had, the loss we shall sus- 
tain in stopping the London copy, and the disadvantage in laying a consi- 
derable time out of our money, we may calculate (at least) at 200 dol. 
which sum, added to what we have already paid, is 1250 dollars. 

If you are not inclined to agree to the above proposition, we will pro- 
ceed to publish the work, you giving us immediately the corrections, 
which we will print in an appendix, but which must not exceed eight pages. 

M. WARD & Co. 

WILLIAM BARLAS." 

*' New-VorA, Dec. iiG, iSoi, 
Mr. Wood. 

Wc agree to deliver up to you the copy right of the new History of the 
Administration of John Adams, for two hundred dojiars as soon as wc 
have received th* money which wc arc to receive for suppressing ihe edi- 
tion which we have printed. 

M:. ward and Co. 
WILLIAM BARLAS.'» 
D 



[ 26 ] 

came public in the business, which it did a few days after 
his departure from New- York, owing to the folly of Barlas, 
who ran among his friends, and particularly to Mr. George 
Clinton and Mr. Chcetham, to advise with them (as he said) 
how he should proceed against the Vice President. 

Mr. Barlas, unfortunately, was made acquainted with all 
the steps and incidents which had taken place in the trans- 
action; he knew the alterations which were to be made in 
the second edition, and before the name of Mr. Burr was 
revealed to bim, I had acquainted him with the observa- 
tions which the person for whom I was negociating had 
made on certain charafters in the History; this was indis- 
pensably necessary, as Mr. Ward, as well as Mr. Barlas, 
insisted on knowing the alterations which were proposed 
in the new History. These were communicated, I sup- 
pose, by Mr. Barlas, to others; so that in the course of a 
few days, not only the name of Mr. Burr, as the suppres- 
sor of the History, but all the circumstances attending the 
transaftion, were known in most of the private circles in 
town.* The friends of Mr. Burr had, therefore, in his 
absence, a difficult part to aft ; being ignorant, probably, 
of the express orders which 1 received from Mr. Burr, in 
order to conclude a bargain with Messrs. Barlas and Ward, 
they naturally hesitated about the payment of the money, 
conceiving, perhaps, that the transactions would tend to 
kurt Mr. Burr with the Republican interest. As they 
were all strangers to me, except Mr. Van Ness, no inter- 
course was held between us; while from a variety of^au- 

* Mr. Cheetham was a daily visitor of Mr. Barlas's at this period. One 
day Mr. Ward and 1 called at his shop, when Cheetham was in a back 
room along with Barlas's sister, procuriRg from her such information as 
Barias himself might be unwilling to reveal — Fearing to be seen he or- 
dered the courteoui maid to conceal him under a bed until our departure. 



[ 27 ] 

ses, I was on terms of intimacy with several of the friend* 
of Mr. Clinton. This circumstance unluckily created in 
the minds of the former, suspicions of an unfavourable 
proceeding in me towards Mr. Burr. This was repeatedly 
suggested, and reiterated to me by Mr. Clinton's party, 
v'hose views I did not then comprehejj^, and who did not 
fail to endeavour to rouse, by every possible means, my 
indignation against the Vice-President. The friends of 
Mr. Burr, Mr. M. L. Davis in particular, were repre- 
sented as using every endeavour to blacken my chara6ler, 
by reporting that I received no orders from Mr. Burr, re- 
spefting the suppression of the History. Anxious to have 
the disagreeable business in which I had engaged termi- 
nated, 1 wrote to Mr. Burr, then at Washington, request- 
ing him to order payment of the stipulated sum to Messrs. 
Barlas and Ward; and acquainting him, at the same time, 
that they had formed the resolution of prosecuting for the 
fulfilment of their agreement with me. Mr. Burr having 
returned no answer to my letter, I regarded it as a matter 
of equity due from me to Messrs. Barlas and Ward, that I 
should furnish them with some document of the transac- 
tion which passed between us, as several accidents might 
arise in the period of a twelvemonth which would deprive 
them of the benefit of my evidence in a court of Justice. I 
therefore, without any hesitation, gave th«m an affidavit, 
expressive of the orders which I received from Mr. Burr 
relative to the purchase of the edition and copy-right. — 
This affidavit was given by me, as both Messrs. Barlas and 
Ward, and Mr. Tunis Wortman will declare, with no 
other intention but to serve as a proof of the bargain, in 
theevent of my death or absence from New- York*. Know- 

* Mr. Wortman was particularly solititious about this affidavit, and pl<^dg- 
cd his honour that it should never be known unless it was necessary to produce 
it in a court of law— yet notwithstanding his promise as well as Barlas' IQ the 



t 28 ] 

ing Mr. Barlas to be a man of weak mind, and in vvho«;e 
promises of secrecy I could not place the greatest reliance ; 
I stipulated, previous to making the affidavit, that it should 
be deposited either with Mr. Ward or Mr. Wortman, and 
on no condition whatever to be made public, or given to 
Mr. Barlas.* WHether Mr. Barlas made offers of it to 
others, I now not ; but if he did, it was without Mr* 
Ward's authority, or mine; and his attempts would have 
been fruitless, as he could never have possessed himself of 
it — and Mr. Duane's story of Mr. Coleman's having of- 
fered a thousand dollars for the affidavit, must be a false- 
hood, for both Mr. Barlas and Mr. Coleman have suffi- 
ciently explained to the world their correspondence on that 
head. 

Messrs. Barlas and Ward, being possessed of this affida- 
vit, resorted, as thi Narrative states, to Mr. Harrison, the 
late recorder of New-York, in order to have his advice, 
"who, Lbelieve, after the facts were stated, entertained no 

same cffvict, the circumstance was publicly known in the course of a few 
kours. 

Mr. Wortman was anxious when Barlas and Ward first consulted him 
that a prosecution should be instituted against Mr. Barr, and he appeared 
to enter into the spirit of their cause with the greatest zeal—His ardour 
however abated in a few days, and he was rather inclined to adopt the 
measures which I afterwards state. 

♦ Mr. Wortman even went so far as to name certain days and hours on 
vhlch he told Mr. Wrird he was to conclude the business with the friends 
of Mr. Burr, he also added, that he had several meetings with them on the 
subject, but who those pretended friends of Mr. Burr were, Mr. Wortman 
though repeatedly asked has never yet mentioned. The group was pro- 
bably composed of Mr. D, Witt Clinton, his drowsy.headed brother 
Georpc, the new Commissioner of Bankruptcy, Jonathan Pearsee, Jun. 
and rfic Deputy Attorney General, wiih his humble servant the Citizen 
Editor. 



[ 29 ] 

doubt of Mr. Burr's liability to the payment of the sum 
agreed upon tor the suppression of the edition. A prose- 
cution would then have been instantly instituted against 
Mr. Burr, had not Mr. Woriman engaged to procure the 
money by subscription from the friends of Mr. Burr. This 
proposal of Mr. Wortman's was rather singular, when it is 
known he never conferred on the subjeGt with a single 
friend or acquaintance of Mr. Burr's, except Mr. Van 
Ness : he however contrived to quiet the minds of Messrs. 
Barlas and Ward tor nearly a fortnight, by daily promis- 
ing them hopes of success without a prosecution ; but 
Messrs. Barlas and Ward being at length tired out with 
delays, they were resolved to wait no longer, and had come 
to the determination of prosecuting, when Mr. Van Ness 
called one forenoon upon me, and promised to pay the sum 
of one thousand dollars, on condition that all the printed 
copies of the History should be delivered up to him : He 
added, at the same time, that he did this entirely without the 
knowledge of Mr. Burr, and was uncertain whether it 
would meet with his approbation. I immediately commu- 
nicated this offer to Mr. Ward, who accompanied me to 
the house of Mr. Van Ness, and the business would, in all 
probability, have been immediately settled, had Mr. Wort- 
m^ returned a copy of the History, with which he had 
been entrusted by Messrs. BaiLs and Ward, as counsel 
for them ; but unloituncitely this copy could not he procur- 
ed ! After repeated promises on the part of Wortman to 
return it every hour, he was at length compelled to con less 
that he had betrayed his trust, by giving a loan ot die book 
to an acquaintance at some distance from town. Thus 
Messrs. Barlas and Ward were reduced to their former dis- 
agreeable suspense. The conduct of Barlas on this occa- 
sion was truly laughable. It Mr. Burr was the obje61 of 
his censorious tongue before, Mr. Wortman was doubly 



[ so J 

so now ; and the cars of strangers, acquaintances, 
and friends, were assailed by the clamours of the 
clerical bookseller, narrating the treachery of counsellor 
Worlman. Mr. Van Ness, however, agreed, that if 
the book should make its appearance within the period ot 
a week, he would still adhere to his promise. It was 
at length produced in a fortnight from the specified 
time, and given bv Mr. Waid into the hands of Mr. 
Van Ness ; but several obstdcies now occurred, which 
occasioned a procrastination of the payment. Mr. Van 
Nc&5 was justly apprehensive" lest the copy which Mr. 
Wortman had, was copied previous to being returned; a 
bond was therefore required from Messrs. Barlas and 
Ward, as also on^ from me, binding ourselves that the 
History should never appear to the public. Barlas and 
Ward, after several aays' hesitation, at length complied ; 
but as I had no other interest but to see the book suppres- 
sed, I refused to give any bond, but one in which I bound 
myself never to publish the same History, reserving the 
privilege, however, of publishing detached parts from it. 
This precaution I thought particularly requisite, as I had 
been informed by Mr. Cheetham and Mr. Rikcr, that Mr. 
M. li. Davis, and other friends of Mr. Burr, were sedulous 
in propagating a report that the History was highly aristo- 
cratieal, and therefore ought to be suppressed by the repub- 
lican party. I shall, however, add, in justicc'to Mr, Davis, 
that I never heard the report from any other quarter but the 
Clintonians, and it probably was intended by them for no 
other purpose but to withdraw my partiality from Mr. Burr ; 
fsr every endeavour was used, both by Mr. Riker and Mr. 
Cheetham, as well as others of their party, to persuade me 
togive to the public a complete statement of all the conver- 
sation which passed between Mr. Burr and myself, rc- 
«pe£ling the History ; otherwise that 1 must consider my- 



r 31 ] 

self as having forleitcd, not only their friendship, but that 
of the republicans in general. This pressing anxiety on 
the part of Mr. Riker and Mr. Cheetham, was certainly un- 
necessary, for by one means or another they had possessed 
themselves of all the circumstances attending the suppres- 
sion, and were therefore fully as adequate as I was, ii they 
were posses.sed of candour, to give an accurate statement 
of them to the world ; but, pursuing their ordinary policy, 
they were desirous of imposing the task upon another, 
well knowingthc odium they woald incur by an attack upon 
(he Vice President, for a transaction which must be deem- 
ed of a laudable nature, when properly explained. Mr, Ri- 
ker, however, acted in this business in a much moreculpa- 
ble manner than Mr. Cheetham. The latter ought, perhaps, 
from the ties of gratitude, to have condu6ied himself with 
more propriety towards Mr. Burr; but since he has declar- 
ed hostilities against the friends of the Vice-President 
his behaviour has at least been consistent; he has not, like 
many others, under the mask of friendship, darted the dag- 
ger of scandal at the head of Mr. Burr. He avows him- 
self his public enemy, and afts accordingly. Mr. Riker, 
on the conttary, affc6ls in the company with Mr. Burr*5 
friends, the greatest attachment to the Vice President ; he 
expresses his astonishment that it should be supposed hei« 
unfriendly to Mr. Burr; he protests, upon his honour, that 
Mr. Burr will always reiain his support, and in a fawning 
courteous manner launches forth into ridiculous eulogiums 
upon the abilities and the virtues of Mr. Burr, whom he 
fit-queiitly declares to be one of the greatest men in the 
Union; and, without any hesitition, places him in the group 
of talents, over which (la Mr. Rikcr's opinion) Mr. Jeffer- 
son and Mr. De Witt Clinton preside. Yet this same 
Deputy Attorney General, who-m nature hds only fitted to 
a£l as the coxcomb of intrigue, with bows and smiles re- 



r 32 3 

ceivcs the Clintonian faftion at his nightly levees, and in 
thewarmc^t language ofeffeminate rhetoric declaims against 
the Vice-President, approves of the proceedings of Mr. 
Checthain, and twists, and turns, and searches all the capa- 
city of his brains for new arguments against what the /z///^ 
Jdlow is pleased to term, the iittlt hand. 

Such has been the conduft of Mr. Riker: respecting the 
Narrative, I shall not assert that either he, or Mr. Cheet- 
ham, Mr. Osgood, or Mr. Wortman,or even Mr. Clinton 
is the author. This was entrusted to me as a secret, and 
it shall remain so on my part. I shall only observe, that 
I had several conversations with the author, and those who 
advised with him previous to the publication of the Narra- 
tive; and repeatedly gave it as my opinion, that Mr. Burr's 
motives wereonlytopreventthepublication of abook which 
he deemed libellous and incorre6t. I confess, that at.that 
period, owing to stories which were artfully told me re- 
specting the attempts cf Mr. Burr, and his friends, to ruin 
my charaCler, I would have had no objeClions to have seen 
a fair statement of the case published, with such extra£ls 
from the History, as to show that it was not wrote by a 
•* tool of Mr. Adams, and Mr. Hamilton's;" which tale, 
it was said, Mr. Davis propagated. The insertion of the 
letters, excepting the first, which was false and incorrecl 
was not objedionable, as they went to prove only the sup- 
pression of the History by me, as an agent of Mr. Burr's; 
but as to the comments and observations made by the writer 
of the Narrative, as well as several mistatements regarding 
thebiography of Mr. Burr, and my conversations with him, 
I opposed at the instant I saw the proof sheets, and imme- 
diately set about writing a correft statement of the Sup- 
pression, which I gave, when finished, to Mr. Ward; but 
which he, tor :;everai reasons, declined publishing. The 



t ^3 ] 

jti correctness of the Narrative, in this respefl, I have made 
ho hesitation of declaring whenever the question Was put 
to me, and frequently; when a silent observer ol the conver- 
sation of strangers, I haVe regarded it a matter of justice 
due to Mr. Burr, to make the circumstance known. 

The Narrative states, that Mr. Van Ness penned a cer- 
tificate, or paper of falsehoods, in order to exculpate Mr. 
Burr from having had any thing to do with the suppression. 
This is certainly a mistake; Mr. Van Ness drew up a pa- 
per, giving an account of the transaftion, to the best of iiis 
knowledge : but I refused to sign it, as I thought it prefer- 
able, if it should be necessary to subscribe my name to any 
Statement, that it ought to be public, and not private. 

Such was theorigin and conclusion of a trarrsa6iicn, which* 
though innocent and praise- worthy of itseff, and which few- 
men, except Mr. Burr, would have had the generosity to 
have done, has yet been construed and twisted into a pl'ot 
against the administration of Mr. Jefferson. When I meil- 
tion the name of our President, I trust it will not be sup- 
posed that I include Mr. Jefferson in that band who have 
raised the voice of calumny, not only against Mr. Burr, but 
against every honest man, »md every virtuous deed. Th6 
pi^moters of this villainous scheme, it is to be hoped, are 
only confined to the state of New- York : their views are not 
to support Mr. Jefferson more than Mr. Burr, or, in short, 
any one individual, but the idol of their party, Mr. Dewitt: 
Clinton. This is not denied, but proudly confessed in their 
private meetings and secret circles; and at the tables of 
their political debauch, the nameof Dewitt Clinton, and suc- 
cess to his ele8:ion as Vice-President, frequently precede as 
a toast, either the constitution of the states, or the states^ 
man of Monticello. It is not my intention, in these page.% 
either to be an advocate for Mr. Burr, or Mr. Jefcersoti ; 



[ 34 ] 

but candour requires it, that when malice provokes popular 
resentment against any individual, by unjust and crafty 
means, the slander should be checked, and the lurking as- 
sassin of character, with his fawning treachery, exposed to 
view. Mr. Deputy Attorney General Rikerisnot tl)e only 
personal enemy who^acts in private against Mr. Burr. Mr. 
Counsellor Wortman is not inferior in thisrespcct---but an 
insinuating laugh covers the designs of the former, while 
the mark of Cain stamped in the womb upon the forehead 
of the latter, holds him forth to the world as a person for 
honesty to avoid, and for prudence to guard against. Mr, 
Wortman is however, less to be dreadc-d on this account, 
for in such a countenance treachery always displays itself, 
and the schemes of infamy are easily defeated ; but the mo- 
dest smiles of Riker (from whose apparent s)n]paiht*tic 
eyes a ray of compassion perpetually beams) frequently be- 
guile the most guarded acquaintance, and deceive the most 
wary opponent. There are others who trim about oscilla- 
ting in the medium beween the Vice President and Mr. 
Clinton. One of the leading characters of this description 
is Mr. Gelston : this man, fearful perhaps of being displac- 
ed, makes ample amends for the political intcgiity which 
his predecessor, Mr. Sands, displayed when in cffice, w hose 
only object was a just and faithful discharge of the import* 
ant trust vested in the collectorshlp of N. York. But Mr. 
Gciston, if we may judge from his conduct, regards the 
study and practice of political intrigue as ol much more im- 
portance to the community, than the labour of investigat- 
ing the itnports and exports ol the state. Determined up- 
on figuring on the theatre of politics, and of partaking in 
that political bustle which accident has created, without in- 
curring the displeasure of either the President or Vice Pre- 
sident, he cultivates the favour of both Clinton Ions and 
Burrites, presses with great cordiality the hand of Mr. 



[ 35 ] 

Cheetham, dines with Mr. Burr, and with the utmost com- 
plaisance spends the evening with Mr. Clinton. Another 
of these accommodating satellites, I am sorry to say, be- 
longs to that order of men whom christian charity ought to 
mark, and in whose actions chrlsiian ca ndcur ought to be 
an unerring characteristic. The reader, perhaps, may 
suppose I wish to insinuate Dr. Linn, as several unjust 
assertions were thrown upon the character of that worthy 
clergyman in the History of Adams' Administration, butthe 
remarks there made were from misinformation and from an 
ignorance of his works. The reverend gentleman here al- 
luded' to, is a man whose name is as significant ot his 
thoughts as it h expressive ot his actions: I mean no 
other than Dr. M Knight who, while he courts the Clin- 
ton interest at the table of the Governor of the State, op- 
poses with the friends of Mr. Burr the daring and ambiti- 
ous spirit of Mr. Dewitt, converses with Mr. Riker upon 
Divinity, endeavours to prove the Christianity ot Mr. Jeffer- 
son, and often laments, it is said a want of the same ortho- 
doxy in Mr. Burr. The champion and hero of duplicity 
is, however, Mr. Duane. To recite the various tricks 
and schemes this fellow has practised, since the death of 
Bache left him the editorship of the Aurora, would com- 
pose a nauseous detail of several volumes, but I shall here 
restrift myself solely to those circumstances in his conduct 
which are connefted with the History of the Administra- 
tion of President Adams. I have already stated, that, in j 
general, all the circumstances furnished by Mr. Duane in 1 
his letters to me, proved afterwards to be the grossest false- 
hoods, most probably fabricated by himself, like his stupid 
tale respe6ling an intercourse which General Hamilton 
and I are said to have carried on by the means of a Scotch- 
man, a tutor in Mr. Hamilton's family, as if Mr. Hamilton 
were he ev^n inclined to communcicate his sentiments to 



[ 36 ] 

another llvii^g in the same place, could not do it but by 
the medium ot a third person, Mr. Duane was particu- 
larly unfortunate in this invention, as it happens Mr. Ham- 
iltoa never employed a tutor in his family, neitber 
Scotch or Irish, his children having been educated at thf, 
public schools in New- York.* 

Duane, being afraid thst the contents of his private let- 
ters would be made public after the History was said to be 
suppressed, wrote me the following letter from Washing- 
ton. 

Washinvion^ fd. 7, 1802. 
Sir, 
Several applications having been made to me for the 
History of John Adams* Administration, which was to 
have been sent me long since for sale, and as the delay 
has tended to an imputation on my veracity, I think it pro- 
per to apply to you to give me such information on the na- 
ture of the delay as may enable me to justify myself. 

Should you have relinquished the design of publishing^ 
I shall consider it as matter of justice to me, that you re- 
turn such letters as \ have addressed to you, communicat- 
ing hints and facts on the subje£t. 

You will learn all that passes here from the public papers, 
as well as it could be conveyed in any way but by the eyes 
and ears. Strange occurrences have arisen kere^ but they 
all tend lo an ultimate good. Do the republicans in N. Y. 
not mean to memorial on the judiciary repeal ? Some in- 
iluential men should stimulate Dr. Mitchell on the imbe- 

^ The teacher who is entrusted witft; the care of Mr. Hamilton's chiU 
^rcn, is a Mr. Scott, and tl^at gentleman will declare that he and I have 
«vcr at any period conversed »bout Mr. Hamilt«n. 



[ 37 1 

fiillty of the naturalization bill, produced by the committee 
pf which he is chairman : My friend Chatham should toucl^ 
that subject, and enter as much into details of arguments 
and principles as possible, for the committee will other- 
wise sleep over it. Smilie,from Pennsylvania, an IrisK- 
man^ is the only member on it zealous and active. 

This city increases in population, convenience and com- 
forts, and promises to be a great theatre of civil and politi- 
cal action in a few years. 

I am, Sir, with reispe6l, yoar obedient servant, 

WM. DUANE. 

Mr. Duane's observation upon Dr. Mitchell, and the 
imbecility of his natiiralization bill, is worth notice, as it 
exemplifies, in a striking manner, the duplicity of his 
f ondu6i ; for Duane was writing in this disrespectful man- 
ner of Dr. Mitchell to a stranger whom he never saw, at 
the very instant he was puffing up at Washington the poli- 
j.ical talents andoratorial powers of the chemical professor \ 
abusing the trustees of Columbia college because they dis- 
missed the Dr. for leaving his charge, and sounding the 
^nliscoveries of Mitchell throughout the United States.— 
This was exactly a parallel of his conduct towards Mr, 
Burr, when in this city at the book fair. He «tcepted of a 
family breakfast from Mr. M. L. Davis, at which Mr. W. 
P. Van Ness, Mr. Swartwout, and Capt. Sandford were 
present. It was not the desire of Mr. Davis, or his friends, 
to introduce the subjed of the Narrative, which was then 
making some noise in the city ; they wished only to com- 
pliment Mr. r)uarie upon his arrival in New-York, and tQ 
converse with him on general topics ; yet did Mr. Duane, 
pr his friends for him, propagate a report, that the breakfast?* 
\yas intended as a political snare to entrap the editor of the 
Aurora, and bring him over to the interest of Mr. fiuri" \ 



[ 38 ] 

that Mr. Duane, with manly fortitude, rejected all their 
proposals, and listened to their arguments with contempt. 
That while Capt. SandFord stamped with his cane, and 
Mr. Davis bellowed with rage against De Witt Clinton and 
Cheetham, Mr. Duane should have preserved a respectful 
coolness of temper. Such was the story fabricated, and 
put in circulation, to impose upon an ignorant populace ; 
and to which Duane himself must have been, in some de- 
gree, accessary. That the deceitful editor wishes to im- 
press sentiments of the same nature upon the public mind 
with regard to Mr. Burr, is evident from the followiirg 
sentence in his letter of the loth July, published in the 
Aurora. — ** I owe Mr. Burrneither gratitude for Javours 
conferred^ nor dislike for disservice ; oj his disposition t9 
render me service I have had proof, of mine to maintain 
my independence he is not ignorant** To the friends of Mr. 
Burr, Mr. Duane apofogized for not taking an immediate 
part in the dispute between them and the Clintonians ; but 
promised he should do his duty to Mr. Burr in that re- 
spe6l, before the commencement of the Pennsylvaina elec- 
tion. At a public dinner, in the house of Mr. Wortman, . 
at which Riker, Cheetham, Jonathan Pearsee, jun. and the 
leading Clintonians were present, Duane was invited ; 
here it appears, that the Aurora editor found himself more 
at his ease ; he heard (It is said) with infinite satisfaction, 
the opprobrious epithets which were heaped on M. Burr, 
— entered himself into the spirit of their scurrility, and de- 
clared, the only reason which prevented him from aiding 
the efforts of Mr. Cheetham, in his attacks upon Mr. 
Burr, was the fear of dividing the republican votes in the 
Pennsylvania election. The same sentiment he avowed 
io several others ; and in particular to a gentleman living 
at Newark. He told Mr. Ward, as also some of the friends 
•f Mr. Burr, that he approved of Mr. Burr's conduct 



[ 39 ] 

in suppressing the History ; and yet he asserts, in his let- 
ter in the Aurora, that he thought it an extraordinary- 
transaction. Such was the duplicity and opposite conduct 
oF Mr. Duane, when in this city, towards Mr. Burr. — 
With the friends of the latter, he afFefted the warmest par- 
tiality towards the Vice-President. In company with the 
Clintonians, he espoused their cause, and dwelt with plea- 
sure upon the dangerous intrigues of Mr. Burr; but ia 
presence of the moderate republicans, he protested his 
intention was to remain an indifferent spectator to the dis- 
putes ot both parties — to be a partizan of neither, but to 
support the present administration. — With regard to my 
putting his letters into the hands of Mr. Burr, it was nei- 
ther improper, nor by any means a breach of confidence. 
They were wrote to me for the avowed purpose of publish^ 
ing their contents to the world ; no secrecy was attached to 
them — no private matters were contained in them, nor was 
there a single expression prohibiting me from quoting Mr. 
Duane as may authority for the facts which they contained. 
Had they been founded in truth, and not fabrications, Mr. 
Duane could have had no cause of complaint. This is 
evident from the anxiety which he expressed to have them 
returned ; he dreaded the consequences of others seeing 
them, and probably imagined, were I the only person who 
had perused them, he might very ingeniously have it in 
his power to dispute their contents ; for as to breach of 
confidence in respect to letters, Duane ought to blush when 
he uses the expression. A man, who was partly the means, 
of ransacking, in a clandestine manner, the books of a 
public office— who did not hesitate to publish to the world 
the contents of letters evidently intended for the post 
office — who glories in being the discloser of secrets and 
the unfolder of private caucuses, ought to veil himself 
from society ; to look to his own heart for consolation. 



- t *o 1 

dnd not appeal to the world, from whom he ckn only ex- 
pect insult and bitter reproach.* 

The publication of the History, after being suppressed, is 
the only circumstance which can attach any blame or cen- 
sure to the friends of Mr. Burr ; this was certainly an un- 
guarded a6l, but it was done without Mr. Burr's know- 
ledge, I suppose, to exculpate his character, and show the 
world his real motives for suppressing it. 

This aft, I confess, irritated me not a little against the 
friends of Mr. Burr, Mr. Van Ness in particular, and oc- 
casioned a short letter which I addressed to him on the oc- 
casion in the American Citizen; soon after the appear- 
ance of my letter to Mr. Van Ness, several queries were 
put to me in the Citizen, evidently with the design to draw 
forth some fresh information respefting Mr. Burr, and 
the suppression. Who they were wrote by I know not, 
although from several circumstances Mr. Riker appeared 
to me at the time to have been the author ; he expressed, 
a particular anxiety the first c vcning of their appearancfe 
when 1 was in his company, that I should answer them 
and for several days afterwards whenever he met me in 
the street, with a smiling countenance he would address 
me, '^ well, Wood, when are you to answer those Que- 
ries?'* 

♦ Mr, Duane does not attempt to disprove any of the charges of which 
he Is here accused, but, like a cowardly poultroon^ aftei- his infamy is detect- 
ed ; he rails in language which even the most profligate of his adherents would 
be ashamed to express. He talks of humanity, with a heart unable to 
comprehend the term, and of physiognomy with a mind only capable of 
discerning the rascality of his own. He is to all iturn's and purposes an 
outcast of nature, designed to act the part of a fiend, to serve the devil on 
earth, and to tormeni hinim hell. 



t *1 ] 

During a temporary absence from New-York upon some 
private concerns, it is well known that the editor of the 
Citizen fabricated a story that I was bribed by the iri«nds of 
Mr. Burr to abscond; no insinuations could have been 
more infamous than this. Mr. Cheetham must have been 
well satisfied from a letter 1 wrote to Mr. Jonathan Pear- 
see, jun. his intimate friend, that this was not the case. Mr» 
Cheetham, in short, was the only editor in New-York who 
had it in his power to have contradifted the report of my 
absconding; in place of which he gave the story addition- 
al currency by stating it as a question, whether or not the 
little band had sent me off. This very cirumstance alone 
is sufficient to prove to any person of candour or common 
understanding, that the attacks made by the editor of the 
Citizen, upon the conduct of Mr. Burr, proceed not from 
motives of justice and patriotism, but from personal en- 
mity, and a desireto exalt his patron Mr. De Witt Clinton 
to the Vice Presidency of the United States. The enmi- 
ty of Mr, Cheetham towards Mr. Burr, has been attribut- 
ed to various causes: I have endeavoured to investigate 
lliein, and it is with regret, I must confess, that I can trace 
tlie malice of this editor to no other source but that unna- 
lural disposition which is found in the breasts of some men 
to stab, when opportunity offers, the heart of their great- 
est benefador and most generous friend. Mr. Burr was 
certainly the friend and benefa6lor of Mr. Cheetham, not 
from any political motives, but from a desire of befriend- 
ing to the utmost of his power every foreigner who arrives, 
that appears possessed of a show of talents and industry. 
Mr. Cheetham dare not deny that it was at the intercession 
of Mr. Burr alpne, that Mr. Denniston accepted him 
as his partner in the American Citizen. The conversa- 
tion which passe4 on that occasion is worth narrating, as 



[ « 3 

it will exemplify Mr. Burr's zeal for having an impartial 
and well conduced paper in the city, while it will prove 
Mr, Burr's aversion to scurrility and personal abuse. Af- 
ter Mr. Burr was appointed Vice-President, Mr. Cheet- 
ham waited upon him and expressed a desire of becoming 
the editor ot the Citizen, acquainting Mr. Burr at the same 
time with the extravagant demands which David Dennist- 
on required for the half of the establishment; Mr. Burr 
desired Mr. Chcetham to call upon him at an appointed 
hour along with Denniston. The original editor of the 
Citizen entered Mr. Burr's apartment without being in- 
troduced, upon which Mr. Burr inquired, v/ith his usual 
politeness, the name of the stranger; Mr. Denniston, 
without giving time to Cheeiham to answer, replied, *' I 
am the editor of the Republican paper." What " Re- 
publican paper?" Mr. Burr naturally asked. The " Ame- 
rican Citizen," replied Denniston. " You certainly do 
not call the American Citizen a Republican paper," was 
Mr. Burr's answer, knowing that the stupidity of the 
American Citizen at that period did no honour to 
any cause. Mr. Denniston apologized in the best possible 
manner for the weakness of his talents, by candidly con- 
fessing he had received no education, and had just come 
from the^ough. Mr. Burr, struck with astonishment af 
the ignorant simplicity of the man, inquired the motives 
which induced him to abandon his proper occupation, and 
commence the editor of a newspaper. Mr; Denniston an- 
swered, •' Sir, my cousins the Clinton Jamily insisted upon 
my going to New -York after the death o/Greenleaf, as they 
were unable to find a person so proper to support the cause 
oj Republicanism^ Mr. Burr, more and more surprised, 
asked if his cousins assisted him in the editorial depart- 
ment. " No (said Denniston) I do it all myself, and ihink 
it done very well." Several other observations followed on 



[ *3 ] 

the part of Mr. Burr, which are unnecessary to mention ; 
but which so mortified the then editor of the Citizen, that 
he willingly accepted Mr. Cheetham as a partner upon 
Cheetham's own terms. The truth of this conversation I 
think. the reader may rely upon ; I had it from two per* 
sons who received it from Cheetham and Denniston, who 
certainly would never fabricate a story that throws a 
stigma upon one of the partnership. I have every reason 
to suppose that it was Mr. Burr's desire that there should 
have been an impartial paper in New-York, devoted tQ 
theinterestofno particular individual but to principle alone. 
Had the Citizen been conduced on that plan, it would 
have received not only the patronage of Mr. Burr, but of 
every independent Federalist and Anti-federalist, and of 
every honest man who might be desirous of knowing 
foreign and domestic transaftions without the alloy of 
scurrility, and the rancour of personal calumny. But 
the mind of Cheetham and his talent o! expression being 
only adapted for the vilest productions, the American 
Citizen soon degenerated from a mass of incoherent ab- 
surdity into that of Billinsgate abuse, defaming the brfght- 
€st characters and vilifying the most virtuous citizens. 
It was then and then only, that the friends of Colonel 
Burr, and several independent republicans stepped forward, 
and regarded it their duty to withdraw their support from 
the paper ; and, if Mr. Cheetham pleases, he has it in his 
power to favour the public with a number of names which 
were ordered to be erased from his subscription list long 
before any attack upon Col. Burr ever appeared. 

After my return to Nev/-York, about the first of July, 
Mr. Riker and Mr. Cheetham as:ain set on foot a new 
scheme in order to drag Mr. Burr before^the public. A 
story was reported by them, to me, in the most plausible 



r 44 ] 

manner, that Mr. Burr censured my conduct in the sever- 
est terms ; that Mr. M. L. Davis propagated, upon the- 
authority of Mr. Burr, that there was not a single truisn* 
in the Narrative ; and that I had never seen Mr. Burr a- 
bove once or twice in my life, and then only for a few 
minutes; in short, that all the circumstances relative to 
the suppression, must have been fabricated by myself. 
They advised, as the only possible means to vindicate my 
character, to write to Mr. Burr, lequesting him to meet^ 
upon those points, in presence of two of his own friends 
and two of mine. — Mr. Riker, and Mr. Jonathan Pearsee, 
jun.* at the same time offered their service on my part, in 
order to examine the Vice-President. The following let- 
ter was accordingly drawn up by me, under erroneous im- 
pressions, in presence of Mr. Riker, who prohibited his 
own name to be mentioned, although he pledged his 
honour he would meet on the subje£i* 

Sir, 

My charafter and veracity having been considerably 
affe6led, owing to a report circulated by Mr. M. L. Davis, 
and your other friends, that I received no orders from yoq 
respeBing the suppression of Adams' History; I consider 
it necessary to give to the world a correal statement of that 
business; but previous thereto, would esteem it a favour 
if you would oblige me with an interview, in presence of 
four gentlemen, two of whom you will be pleased to name, 
as I shall take the liberty of naming the other two. If 
this mode of interview should not meet with your appro- 
bation, you will be so obliging as to fix upon any other 

* Mr. Pearsee was not present ^when the proposal was made ; but at the 
^uest of Mr. Riker, who sent Denniston to him on the business, he inx. 
mediately complied. 



[ ^5 3 

wsanrter of communicating our sentiments, or meeting to- 
gether, otherwise you will pardon me if I interpret your 
silence on the subjeft as an entire refusal of the request/ 
I remain, with the greatest respe61. 
Your obedient servant, 

JOHN WOOD. 
Pine-street Academy^ ^tk July^ 1802. 

One difficulty, however, presented itself — who should 
be the bearer of the letter; as it was thought a matter of 
importance, that it should be delivered into the hands of 
Mr. Burr by some person of chara£ler, and not sent by the 
post-office. Cheetham and Denniston at once volunteered 
to be the bearers; but I objefted to the propriety of cither 
of them going, as it evidently would have been insulting 
Mr. Burr. Mr. Riker, therefore, proposed Mr. Jonathan 
Pearsee, jun. as a proper person. Mr. Pearsee accord- 
ingly, was spoken to, and accepted of the embassy ; but 
after having the letter in his possession a few hours, he 
declined going. Mr. John Fellows on account of his 
gigantic figure, was the next person who was requested to 
wait on Mr. Burr ; but Mr. Fellows, after some hours 
hesitation objefted to the mission. Mr. Crygier was then 
applied to, as being an acquaintance of Mr. 3urr's; but 
this gentleman, after consulting with his friends, also re- 
fused the honour which Mr. Riker wished to confer upon 
him. Several other persons were afterwards named by 
Mr. Riker, to whom Denniston was dispatched, in order 
to solicit their acceptance of being letter carrier in a busi^ 
ness of importance to the party ; but nobody being found 
of hardiness enough to face Mr. Burr, Cheetham and Den- 
niston at length thought of resorting to a taylor, who has 
Jately been appointed messenger to the commissioners of 



[ +6 ] 

bankruptcy. This poor fellow, although honest enough, 
was too stupid either to perceive the intent or meaning of 
their scheme, and would proudly have accepted of t!ie 
offer, had not his friend, Ferguson, the new made secre- 
tary to the said commissioners, been prv'?sent; who, by 
expatiating on the necessary etiquette to be observed in 
entering the Vice-President's apartment, entirely discon- 
certed the nerves of the taylor, and frustrated the plan of 
M; . Riker. — I mention these circumstances only to expose 
the low cunning which Riker and his friends, who are 
destitute of all candour, praOised in order to efFeft their 
political designs ; for in any other case, anecdotes of this 
description would appear trifling. As to the letter, which 
I afterwards sent by a servant, it was not a matter respeft- 
ing which I was very anxious. I confess I took some in- 
terest to ascertain how far the sincerity of Mr. Riker and 
his friends was to be relied on; as I have no manner of 
doubt, had Mr. Burr complied with the request contained 
in the letter, that the Deputy Attorney General, notwith- 
standing his honour, would have shrunk from the inter- 
Tiew like a felon conscious of his guilt. The ofiFice this 
man holds, alone entitles him to any respect, either at the 
bar, or in private ; — strip-ped of the dignity which the 
Clintonian interest has conferred, he would soon fall 
back into his former station, neglected and despised, a 
frivolous conceited coxcomb, and quibbling attorney. 

After the statement which I have given of the suppres- 
pression, and for tne truth of w'lich, Mr. Ward, as well 
as others, will vouch, I believe there can be no man, how- 
ever indifferent to the politics of parties, who will not rea- 
dily allow, that the odium which has been thrown upon 
Mr. Burr, in the transaction of suppressing the History, 
has not only been unfounded, but altogether the efFeft of 



1 



[ *7 ] 

the jealousy and ambition of men, who are destitute of 
generosity, and who interpret every indifferent act, as a 
bar thrown in the road of their own preferment. But it 
fortunately happens, that calumnies of this nature, with- 
out injuring the individual upon whose head they are in* 
tended to fall, are of service to the public. They serve 
to bring forward such characters as Osgood, Wortman» 
and Riker, who would fain be thought to take no part 
themselves, but meanly skulk behind the shoulders of 
some fellow like the editor of the Citizen, and give their 
bully such advice as they have neither spirit to avow or 
defend. I am almost ashamed to sport so oiten with the 
name of the Deputy Attorney General, but his coiuiuct 
towards all parties provokes resentment, while the insig- 
nificance of his person and abilities, which are distorted 
by conceit, also rouse indignation, and make the creature 
at once both hateful and contemptible.* 

The reflexions which the editor of the Narrative ofFers 
on the suppression, are in the highest degree trifling and 
absurd. His first assertion is, that the right of purchasing 
literary productions, by individuals, is more peikiiicious 
than the regular abridgment of the freedom of the press 
by law. In answer to this, I shall only observe, that while 
printers' devils can be bought, and characters such as the 
author of the Narrative, can bribe, the suppression of lite- 
rary productions, by individuals, will always prove abor- 

* The late conduct of the Deputy Attorney General proves him to be 
-a knave as well as a fool, by appearing a second ic a duel, he ha& 
violated the laws of his country, and betrayed the trust reposed in hiia 
by the people j no epithet of reproach can be too severe for such conduct, 
and, if passed over in silence, it will be no way astonishing to sec ere long, 
the little coxcoraical fellow act the part of a Gladiator in the court of 
justice. 



[ 43 J 

live, and will ultimately tend only to make the intended 
suppression notoriously public. The author of the Narra- 
tive, in his disingenuous style, proceeds, *• This practice 
(the prafticeot suppression) is peculiarly inauspicious in 
a Vice-President ; it is ominous of a subtle, dangerous, 
and unfriendly disposition ; — it bespeaks a desire to cherish 
vice by concealment, and to elevate it upon the ruins of 
virtue." — The above language might be pardonable in a 
man ignorant of the contents of the suppressed work, ot 
who had reason to believe that its publicity would benefit 
mankind ; but what epithet of reproach will not the reader 
bestow upon this political hypocrite, when he is informed, 
that he not only had a printed copy in his possession, but 
had perused it, and confessed to his friends its inaccuracy, 

and libellous nature. Yet these are facts, which, when 

necessary, can be proved. With his natural effrontery, 
he judges of the feelings of the public by the coldnes* 
of his own, and affirms, that it will not be believed that 
Mr. Burr would voluntarily offer twelve hundred doU 
lars to shield Mr. Wood from federal prosecutions. As I 
have already stated Mr. Burr's motives for the suppression, 
I shall not discuss this question with the Narrative writer, 
whose heart is callous to every mark of benevolence, whtJi 
feels not for the frailties of others, but rejoices at the vices 
cf the world, and is overwhelmed with sorrow at the ap^ 
pearauce of virtue. He says also, that the story is tot^ 
Quixotic to be accredited in this age of reason. This is a 
subjeft upon which, if I pleased, I might torture his soul, 
and compel some precious confessions. I could ask theNar- 
rative writer who the infidel was, that established Driscoi 
and his temple of reason in this city, and what the infidel's 
motives were afterwards for withdrawing his money which 
he lent to Diiscol ; whether or not his intention wa* i« 



L *^ 1 

publish privately the same Temple of Reason, and to pro^ 
cure his friend, blind P<ilmer, to be the editor.** I could^ 
tnoreover, put a liui^iber of serious questions to the Nar- 
rative writer; but I shall not, as Callender has done his 
Antagonist, suspend him on a gibbet for the basest of 
crimes ; nor like Dr. Rigdum^ trace the vaporous schooi 
where he learnt his ethics. I shall rather leave the flaming 
pamphleteer, who now, under the banners of Riker and 
Wortraan, scorches the little band, to sink with his patri- 
ots into that obscurity into which they are all fast hast^ 
ening. 

The public n^ay, ho*^everi ask the solution of one ques- 
tion, why Mr. Burr should have been desirous of conceal- 
ing his name ia a transaftion which was certainly laudable* 
No circumstance attending the suppression can be better 
explained than this ; it is evident, from the letter addressed 
by me^-toBarlas and Ward, that it was not Mr. Burr's in- 
tention that I should abandon the idea of writing a corre6l 
History of the last administration* He was only desirous, 

♦ TThii sabject jhall probably sooii b6 treated in a manner of wkich th<* 
Narrative writer is not aware, when a society with the members of which he 
was ntiihatcly connected, shall be brought to view, and a scene of infidelity 
and dark illuminatism exposed, that will rivil in point of wickedness any of 
the nocturnal meetings related by Robis:>n and B:Urue'4 I confess until I 
Was made acijuainted with all he pirticalars of this society, which may bs 
termed the Colurabiai lUuminatij tliat I treated iht volumes of Barruel 
and Robison with idle contempt; 1 viewed therri only as visionary tales 
and the fabrications of artful men ; but the similar schemes which have 
been privately acted in this city, and which havc-bev^n disclosed to me by 
one of the leading members, who if necessary will substantiate them in a 
court of justice, have removed fro.n my mind every doubt on the sub* 
j-'Ct, and I am confident will satisfy the most unsuspicious christian, that a 
re^ruiar plot has been carrying on in this coanrry under the auspices of the 
^nfiiels in Europe, for the abolition of cluistianity* - 



[ 50 J 

that the incorreft edition should be buried in oblivion ; that 
it should never be known that there were men who assu- 
med the appellation of lepublicans, and were themselves 
cither natives or citizens of the United States, base enough 
to ^fabricate falsehoods, and in the most plausible manner, 
to impose them upon a stranger, in order to send them 
Jorth to the world in the pompous form of an oftavo 
volume. The suspicious and cold hearted Clintonian, 
may still demand, why this correct edition did not take 
place ; an answer is ready, and which will carry convic- 
tion to every honest mind. The folly of Barlas, with the 
malice of Riker, Wortman, and Cheetham, made the 
original suppression public; at the same time, they veiled 
the transaftion in such mysterious cloathing, as rendered 
any father interference on the part of Mr. Burr, highly 
improper. As to the after publication of the History, it 
was done, as I have stated, without Mr. Burr's knowledge 
and in his absence ; nor did this even take place until Mr. 
Van Ness had certain information that Mr. Cheetham and 
others had purloined copies in their possession; and that 
there was every probability of spurious copies being pub- 
lished in different parts of the United States. 

There are several trifling incidents which I have stated 
in the preceding pages, that it may be necessary to explain 
before I take my leave of the subje6l of the suppression. — - 
J have mentioned that I informed Mr. Burr, that Do6lpr 
Wilson of Columbia College, was an intimate acquaint- 
ance of Mr. Barlas, and probably would have it in his pow- 
er to persuade him to accede to reasonable terms. Mr. Burr 
1 understand, waited for that purpose on Dr. Wilson ; 
the conversation which passed between them I believe was 
short, as the Po61or was under the necessity of attending 
the duties of bis class at the hour at which l^lr. 3urrcalU 



[ 51 ] 

cd. Doctor Wilson certainly declined interfering in the 
business, but his reason I believe, was not that mentioned 
in the Narrative, ** That the work was to be suppressed to 
favour some federal gentlemen, whose charafters he did 
not admire.'* 1 rather imagine his motives proceeded from 
a desire of avoiding any political controversy, which he 
probably imagined would take place, if the suppression 
became pul^lic. I mention this not with the intention o£ 
throwing a refle6lion upon Dr. Wilson, but to destroy 
any erroneous impression which the note in the Narrative 
respefting him may have occasioned. 

It has been stated that Mr. Wortman betrayed his trust 
by lending the History, which he received from Messrs. 
3arlas and Ward, with the express orders only to peruse 
it himself, but on no consideration to allow that privilege 
to another. This circumstance merits a little attention, 
as it will serve both to unfold the species of integrity 
which Wortman possesses, as well as from some circum- 
stances which attended the absence of the book, to lead 
the reader to the main prompter of the Narrative. After 
Wortman had the book in his possession, I requested the 
loan of it from Mr. Ward, in order to show it to Mr. Ri- 
ker, to have his opinion on several libellous passages, as 
at that time Messrs. Barlas and Ward had not decided 
whetht^r they would \,ro3ecute Mr. Burr, or publish the 
History. I accordingly received the book and gave it to 
Mr. Riker; but the evening previous to Mr. De Witt 
Clinton's departure, for the seat of Government, Mr. 
Wortman sent for the book, as he said it would efFeft a 
suit against Mr. Burr, if the History should be lent out or 
read. Yet, notwithstanding this declaration of Mr. Wort- 
man's, it appeared before ten days afterwards upon Mr, 
Van Ness's application, to have all the copies in his pos- 



t 5^ ] 

session, that Mr. Wortman himself gave the book aU^ay to' 
some acquaintance, who, most probably was no other but 
Mr. Dc Witt Clinton, both from the circumstance of hia 
requesting to have it the evening- before that senator lelt 
town, as well as from the length of time which elapsed al- 
ter being demanded by Mr. Van Ness, until it was return- 
ed. No other conclusion, in fa6>, can be formed; for if 
the book had been sent to any indifferent acquaintance, 
Mr. Wortman, as he was obliged to confess his breach of 
trust, would have had no objcftion to have mentioned the 
name of the person in whose possession it was; this open- 
ness would even have palliated his guilt, but to have re* 
vealed the name of De Witt Clinton, would have at once 
unhinged the design af the faflion, and brought to view 
the Grand Master of the Great Band*. If we consider 
Air. W'ortman, as a61ing upon this occasion the humble 
servant of Mr. Clinton, he certainly deserves the merit 
which is due to a dark intriguer, and in this rcspcft his 
Countenance by no means betrays his condufl ; but I hope 

*■ I stated it to be the intention of Riker, Wortman, Osgood, and their 
partizans to raise ^Ir. De Witt Clinton to the Vicc-Prcsider.cy of the 
United States, but I expressed a hope that their scheme did not extend beyond 
tiic State of New-Yoik. In this 1 have however been mistaken j having been 
iuformed fiom undoubted authoriiy that a Republican Caucus was held 
ai the scat of government before the rise of Congress, in which that mea- 
sure '.vas n:iJillv agreed upon — Of this circumstance the writer of the Nar- 
rative is well acquainted, althouf;h to the public he veils the sccrcct desire 
of hiS heart and only at present deals forth his wanton abuse against Mr. 
Burr, After havinj- in this manner laid the foundation of power for h-s 
tivorite, he will next pave the way bv srrewino; in abnudcuce praise and 
panej^vric upon all the actions of De Witt Clinton. He will relate most 
j>rob«ib]y qv^ry circumstance in the life of Governor George and will even 
attempt to prove that the nephew inheriis alt the qualifications of the Uticle^ 
v.ith t'le addition of a knowledge in letters to which Brissot has dccU»ici 
the veneriiblv Govcrsior has no clairj. or pretensions. 



[ 53 ] 

the circumstance will also serve a useful purpose, and rc^ 
main a lasting index of the degree of confidence which 
may be placed in Counsellor Wortman. 

I have mentioned that I had several interviews with iht 
author of the Narrative, previous to the publication of that 
pamphlet. The reader will, therefore, naturally expe6l 
that I should know the sources from which he had receiv- 
ed his information. When the Narrative v/riter declared 
to me his intention of publishing a statement of the busi- 
ness, he drew from his desk a- parcel of sheets containing 
all the circumstances relating to the suppression, which he 
had colle£ied from every individual, who, like Barlas, had 
{oily enough to be duped by the Crafty Clintonian. I 
objected, after reading them, to a number of the incidents 
which he had either fabricated himself, or had been impos- 
ed upon him by others. . I attempted to reason with him 
Upon the impropriety, as well as stupidity, of publishing 
a statement which I should disprove, and which would be 
demonstrated not only incorre61:, but as proceeding from 
malicious motives; he heard^ with a sarcastic smile, my 
account of the business, and said, lohattver might be writ- 
ten^ he would engage Mr. Burr should not contradid it. 
The writer of the Narrative, from a long acquaintance with 
Mr. Burr, knew that his natural disposition, independent 
of the station which he holdsj would never suffer him to 
descend to a paper war with a writer of pamphlets. From 
Mr. Burr, therefore, he thought he had nothing to lear ; 
and he probably imagined, from the circumstantial proofg 
which accompanied bis Narrative, as well as the friendly 
terms upon which he and I stoodj that I would not call 
the truth of his statement in question, even although he 
had the assurance ^r rather baseness, to insert in it a faisei 
and incorreft iettci , .vith my name subscribed, having been 
unable to procure a copy of the original one* 



[ 54 ] 

Respefting the proposed correfted, or second edition of 
the History, the Narrative mentions, that Col. Burr, "waste 
furnish materials for writing new biographies of the Presi- 
dent, Mr- Hamilton, C. C. Pinkney, Dayton, &c. He was 
also to supply him with such matter as would make the 
work appear almost entirely new. It was determined that 
the negociation should be prosecuted with less vigour ; that 
it should be carried on in such a way as would be nearly 
equivalent to a suspension. During this relaxation, Mr. 
Wood was to compose a new history of the administration, 
preserving such p irts only of the old one as accorded with 
the views of the Vice-President : — And, as expedition 
was the soul of the expedient, an assistant to Mr. Wood 
was to be procured. Mr. Cornelius Van Ness, brother to 
Mr. William P. Van Ness, was mentioned by Mr. Burr, 
as a trusty person, and truly fitted for the office. This 
young gentleman was to arrange the fa61s, and to lay them 
before Mr. Wood, sheet by sheet, in such order as that he 
might easily give to them his classical dress. As the 
sheets were thus written, they were to be sent to Mr. 
William A. Davis, the printer, who, it w^s supposed, 
could work ofFan edition of twelve hundred and fifty copies 
(the number of Bailas and*Ward's edition) in twelve or 
fourteen days. This was to be done with that secrecy and 
promptitude which characterizes the movements of the 
Vice-President." I have thought proper to transcribe this 
paragraph at large, to serve as a specimen of the wanton 
'acuity which the writer of the Narrative possesses for fa- 
brication.* Mr. Burr, as I have already stated, only in- 

♦ As a specimen of the want of candour in the writer of the Narrative, I 
ihall remark a note which he has in the 8ist page of his View, *« He 
♦here sut€« tljat about ihc time that Luciu* Junius Brutus vras wiittcn, 



[ 53 ] 

tended to have pointed out the different mistakes into 
which I had been led; and if a new edition had gone on, 
to have, perhaps, direfted me to sources where I might 
have had a view of the transa6tions of the administration, 
without that mixture of falsehood and scurrility which is 
fpund in newspapers devoted to opposite parties. 

The letter which I addressed to Mr. Van Ness in the 
American Citizen, after the publication of the History, will 
without doubt, be seized upon by Mr. Rikerandhis friends ; 
every sentence will be scrutinized, and every word laid hold 
of by the critical paw of the Citizen, in order to show my 
enmity to Mr. Burr : but even that letter will, by every 
candid person, be regarded only as the effe6l of a momen- 
tary difference, when both Mr. Van Ness and myself la- 
in June or Jaly i8oi, Mr. Lang had a paragraph in his Gazette, stating 
that Mr. Burr had a few days before dined at a private house, with many 
federal characters in this city, and had declared to the company, that unless 
the respectable part of Federalists would support the present administration it 
could not stand ! It went so far as t® insinuate in pretty plain terms that 
Mr. Burr seemed to be of opinton that there was not sufficent talent and 
res t)ect ability in the Republican party to support a truly dignified admini- 
stration." He afterwards adds ** we assert tliat there is the greatest rea- 
son to believe that the substance of the paragraph was strictly correct — It 
is known that Mr. Burr was unwilling to have the facts examined." He 
forgets however to tell the cause of Mr. Burr's unwillingness which I shall 
take the liberty of relating not on the authority of Mr. Burr, but on that of 
a person who wns acquainted with the circumstance. — The Narrative writer 
when he observed the paragraph -fn Lang's paper posted away to Mr, Burr's 
house, and without having the modesty either to ring the door bell or en- 
quire of the servant if Mr. Burr was disengaged, rushed forwards info the 
dining apartment where Mr. Burr and a few friends were seated at dinner. 
It was the season of mad dogs and the first sungestion which it is said oc- 
curred to Mr. Burr, was that one of these animals had chaced the fellow 
jn ; the leader therefore will net be surprised that Mr. Burr was unwil- 
MHg to hold mucli conversation with the man. 



t 56 3 

boured under erroneous impressions, when we were both 
deceived and when the artful Ci^nning of Clintonian depen- 
dents had created in a manner a temporary animosity be- 
tween us. I spoke in that letter something about Mr. 
Van Ness having threatened prosecutions. In the queries 
which were afterwards put to me in the Citizen, I was ask- 
ed what these prosecutions were ; I promised to answer 
the question at a future period. I now embrace the op- 
portunity. Mr.^Van Ness justly supposed, that most pro- 
bably there would be prosecutions instituted against me by 
some of the federal party, unless a proper explanatiori 
was given. He was inclined to believe I suppose from 
malevolent reports, that so far from apologizing for the 
mistatements I had made in the Histoiy, I was resolved 
to persevere, and insist upon their correftness, at the same 
time that I would calumniate Mr. Burr, for his endeavours 
to suppress the work. This was the only idea I am cer- 
tain Mr. Van Ness entertained, when he mentioned th^ 
phrase prosecutions, 

I have been compelled, more than once, in the course 
of the preceding pages, to mark the folly of the bookseller 
Barlas. Nothing can be more irksome or disagreeable than 
to torture beings of his description; it affords no amuse- 
ment to the reader, and only pain to the writer ; but, as 
almost all the unfortunate incidents which have taken place, 
and all the noise respefting the suppression, have originated 
from him alone, it was, on my part, an unavoidable duty. 
The fretful uneasiness — the suspicious anxiety—the ser- 
vile meanness, and the hypocritical cunning which he dis- 
played every moment, were perhaps never equalled by 
any of his profession. His racing about, from friend to 
foe, to inform them of his transaftion with the Vice Pre- 
iidentt can not be better described than in Pope's humorous 



[ 57 ] 

description of Bernard, in the Dunclad ; and with thest 
ludicxous lines, I shall take leave of ray friend Barlas. 

As when a dab chick waddles thro* the copse. 
On feet, on wings, and ffies, and vf ades, and hops, 
So lab'ring on with shoulders, hands, and head. 
Wide as a Windmill all his figure spread 
With Arms expanded Barlas row'd his slate. 

The designs of the Clintonians are also apparent from 
another pamphlet published by the writer of the Narrative; 
but the assertions there made, it is not my intention to 
disprove or discuss. I wish neither to be the advocate of 
Mr. Burr nor Mr. JefFerson,or in short any one individual 
in preference to another in America. The mistakes into 
which I have been led, both as to charafters and events, 
ought to be a caution to every foreigner, not to embark too 
rashly in the support of any party, either federal or anti- 
federal. I have, however, considered it a task, which I 
particularly owed to those whom I have involved, and 
whose names I have dragged before the public, to give this 
correct statement of the political transaftion in which I 
have been engaged. At the same time that 1 take this fare- 
well ot party controversy, I must declare, that no one 
laments more than I do, the unhappy differences which 
have arisen among the citizens of the United States. 

The cause of republicanism suffers more by such di- 
visions, than by either the fetters of kings, or the dungeons 
of despots. The real friends of liberty are truly disgusted, 
while the pretended patriot rejoices at the prospect before 
him, and hopes to share in those spoils which ambition 
and discord have created. I am well aware, that an infidel 
host, regardless either of truth or honour, will pour forth 
Vhe venom of their malice against me, but their arguments. 



r 58 ] 

as well as their billlns gate, I shall leave to the c redulity o{ 
men, whom ignorance may cause to be ensnared. I know 
the pitiful advantage that will be taken of unguarded words 
that may havebeen dropped in the moinent of error, when 
breathing the noxious fumes ol Clintonian abuse, and when 
surrounded, if I may be allowed the expression, by an en- 
crustation of the vilest deceit. I think I see the villainous 
mind of the Aurora editor, searching every nerve of his 
dark and poisonous brain for fresh ideas of calumny and 
slander. I behold the Citizen bully, in the chamber of 
the Deputy Attorney General, with Wortman at his el- 
bow, and the basest fabrications before him. Perhaps 
this language may appear too passionate— perhaps it may 
be thought to savour too much of that of my enemies ; 
but it is the expression of truth, the sentiment of my breast, 
and the words of experience. I have now done my duty 
to myself and the Citizens of the Union. It belongs to 
them, and not to me, to discard the factious ; and to advise 
all honest men to unite f®r the benefit of their country, 
and the preservation of their Constitution. 




311 










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